Then There Was Maverick

Chapter 2

Upon my arrival on campus, I was greeted by a crowd of first-year students who were scrambling to unpack all of their belongings from their cars and carry them up to their rooms. When I found a parking spot near my dorm, I decided to go up to my room and unlock the door, so I wouldn't have to try unlocking it with my hands full. As I was walking up the stairs, I was greeted by many new faces. Most people I passed looked as if they were in dire need of a power nap, as they had been unpacking boxes all day. Once I arrived at the second floor, I looked inside the orientation packet that was mailed to my house last week. "Bailey House 202," I thought aloud as I searched for my room and navigated through the sea of people in the crowded hall. I finally found by room, I took a deep breath before unlocking the door to see the room that I would be living in for the next nine months. When I opened the door, I was greeted by the smell of bleach and Clorox wipes. It seems as if my roommate had already moved in and unpacked her belongings. Her side of the room was decorated in dark tones. She had a dark grey bedspread with cheetah print pillows. On the wall above her bed hung a sign that read, "Welcome to the Jungle." This led me to assume that she was a Guns 'n' Roses fan. I noticed that my side of the room looked so bare in comparison to hers, so I decided to go and gather my belongings from my car and unpack before orientation began.

Once I had all of my boxes unloaded from my car, I began to unpack. I started by making my bed. I grabbed my light grey sheets and teal comforter and quickly arranged my bed to where it felt homier. I then moved on to the next task, fitting all of my clothes into the closet. As I crammed the last piece of clothing into a drawer and shut it, I stepped back and took a deep breath. At this point, I was ready for a nap. However, I pushed through the fatigue and continued to unpack my books and the pictures I brought from home. As I arranged my picture frames, I looked at the smiling faces of me and my friends from graduation and prom. I knew that I was going to miss them dearly, as our group had stuck together from elementary school all the way until graduation. The final picture frame that I removed from the box held a picture of Tommy, Mason, and I from their conjoined graduation party. I remember our parents forcing me between the two boys as the party was coming to an end. The two groaned, tired of taking pictures. "C'mon Mom," Tommy complained, "I think we have plenty of pictures from today for your scrapbook."

"Thomas Jacob," my Mom warned, "You'll take as many pictures as I want. Now, smile boys, and try not to break my camera!" Little did we know, this would be our last picture together before everything changed.

I heard someone trying to unlock the door, so I sat the framed picture on the shelf of my desk and quickly wiped away the stray tear that managed to escape. When I turned around, I was met by a tall, slender girl with jet black hair and an enormous grin on her face. "Hey," she said excitedly, "I'm Maxine Blackwood, but my friends call me Max!"

' I smiled sweetly and replied, "Hey, Max! Great to finally meet you! I'm Katherine Calahan, but literally everybody calls me Katie."

"Katie it is then," she responded with a light chuckle. "Glad to see you got all of your stuff moved in! The room was looking a little bare and depressing."

"Yeah, I'm just glad that I found a place to put all of my clothes," I stated as I opened my door to show her my closet that was completely full.

She stifled a laugh before opening her closet door and responding, "Don't worry, girl. Mines the exact same way! I couldn't decide what to leave at my house and what to bring with me, so I just brought a little bit of everything."

As we talked some more and got to know each other better, I learned that Max is from the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky and is the oldest of her two siblings – a brother and a sister. I shared that I was from a small town in Tennessee where my dad preached at our local church and that I was the youngest of two children, neglecting to share any more about my brother. To this, she responded, "Wow, I never would've pegged you to be the preacher's kid."

"I get that a lot," I responded, after letting out a light chuckle.

"You just don't really have the whole "Holier than thou" persona to you," she stated matter-of-factly.

"You must have had an encounter with someone who has an extreme case of Preacher's Kid Syndrome."

"You could say that," she laughed.

As our laughter died down we decided to head over to the Student Center where the first-year orientation was being held. When we got into the building, Max looked at me and said, "Come on, there are some people I want you to meet!" She grabbed my wrist and pulled me along behind her. As we approached two girls, she smiled and waved excitedly. "Hey guys," she greeted, "This is my roommate, Katie!" 

"Hey, I'm Bonnie! Very nice to meet you!" the redhead spoke as she extended her hand out to me to shake. 

"I'm Haley," the tall blonde said while smiling and shaking my hand as well.

"It's really great to meet both of you!" I responded to the girls in front of me.

"Now that we have all introduced ourselves," Max began while smiling cheekily, "has anybody met any cute guys on campus yet?"

Before anyone could answer Max's question, a guy who dressed as if he belonged to one of the fraternities on campus stepped up on the stage and tapped the microphone. "Attention first-years!" he said in an excited tone, "I'm Zach Wesley, and let me be the first to welcome you to orientation!" As he spoke, the room full of people began to quiet down and crowd in front of the stage. Zach continued to speak, "It's a pleasure to be in front of you right now, kicking off the beginning of your time here at Redding. Before we get started, I would like to introduce you to our president of the student activities board – the man who plans all the hype parties you'll attend in your time here. He's a two-time All-American quarterback who is entering his Junior year here at Redding." His voice trailed off as I recognized the person who was making his way through the crowd to the stairs that led up to the stage.

"No way," I thought aloud, "It's him."

"Class of 2023, give Mason Maverick a hand!" Zach exclaimed, "Tell 'em what they need to know Mav!"

Mason dapped him up and stepped toward the mic. "Alright y'all!" he yelled excitedly, "Let's get this semester started off on the right foot with the Beta party tonight! I better see all of y'all on the dance floor tonight! Let's get fucking lit!" My jaw dropped as I realized that this was really happening, and I wasn't dreaming. I knew I would run into Mason sooner or later, considering that Redding's campus was small. I was just hoping it would be sooner rather than later.

As he exited the stage, he scanned the crown one last time, locking eyes with me and immediately recognizing me. He seemed to be caught off guard, but quickly recovered and shot me his notorious smirk and head-nod before jumping off the stage and leaving me dumbfounded.